Theater Plan Sets Stage For Redevelopment

February 16, 1986|By David Ibata.

An old movie palace to be transformed into a black performing arts center will be the centerpiece of a two-block redevelopment effort on the South Side. A development group headed by Edward and Bettiann Gardner, owners of Soft Sheen Products Inc., announced plans last week to renovate the former Avalon Theater at 1645 E. 79th St. into the New Regal Theater.

``Chicago`s strong history of black artists and performers is widely known, but despite that history, there has been no single center to showcase the black performing arts since the demise of the old Regal Theater many years ago,`` Edward Gardner said.

Gardner called the Regal, 47th Street and King Drive, the city`s last showcase for black entertainers. It was demolished in 1973.

``The New Regal Theater will rectify that situation as it becomes the city`s premier showcase of emerging and established black talent,`` Gardner said.

(In a subsequent interview with The Tribune, Gardner said that no acts have been booked but that he expected the New Regal to feature a broad selection of black-oriented theaterical productions, concerts and dance.)

The owners of the New Regal plan to spend $9.6 million in the next year restoring the Avalon`s Moorish exterior and 2,200-seat interior and redeveloping adjacent property in the 1600 and 1700 blocks of East 79th Street.

When completed, the theater will be leased to the New Regal Theater Foundation, a nonprofit organization that will operate the facility.

``We desire that the New Regal Theater will become a destination place not only for Chicagoans and suburbanites seeking a quality cultural experience, but for out-of-town visitors as well,`` Gardner said.

A New Regal Theater District also announced by Gardner last week is expected to help accomplish that.

``The building next to the theater will be used for theater offices and a ticket office,`` he said. ``Two buildings across the street will be used to house a fine restaurant and, possibly, a gallery or exhibit space.

``We are also giving consideration to creating a music store featuring the works of noted black performers, including performers who will appear at the New Regal,`` Gardner said. ``Ample parking for theater patrons and visitors will be provided in landscaped and lighted lots surrounding the theater and other facilities.

``Finally, we intend to unify the district into a single identity, a place desirable to visit in and of itself, by means of special paving, antique lighting, special plantings and streetscaping.``

The project will be financed by owners` equity and private funding. The developers also have applied for partial funding through the Illinois Development Action Grant program and will seek additional asssitance from city, county and federal governments, Gardner said.

The Avalon, built in 1927, was designed by theater architect John Eberson. It was sold to the New Regal group in early 1985 by R.W. Schambach Ministries of Tyler, Tex., which had operated a Miracle Temple church there.